Search and rescue workers rushed to the northern Ontario city Saturday night after part of the Algo Centre mall caved in.

A woman checks out the damage after a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre in Elliot Lake on Saturday. Toronto's Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team has been called to the mall in the northern Ontario town.

By:Tim AlamenciakStaff Reporter, Published on Sun Jun 24 2012

One person is feared dead and another still trapped in the wreckage after a roof cave-in at the Algo Centre mall in Elliot Lake.

Rescue efforts have been hampered because the collapse Saturday left the mall dangerously unstable and crews said Sunday it would take up to 12 hours to stabilize.

A person buried underneath concrete and steel responded to the shouts of rescuers Sunday morning by tapping at first, but stopped after a few responses.

“It may be that they’re weak and can’t tap. They may be unconscious,” said Staff Insp. Bill Neadles, spokesperson for Toronto’s Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team, which arrived on scene Sunday.

Crews tried desperately Sunday to reach the trapped person but the structure threatened to collapse further. They still consider it a rescue mission.

Ontario Provincial Police said 22 people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the cave in. Emergency responders said they saw one person in the wreckage who appeared dead, but they have not been able to access the body. Nine people remained on the OPP’s list of those unaccounted for.

The collapse sent waves of panic throughout the small northern Ontario town near Sudbury, but came as no surprise to many.

“We moved here in 2004 and the mall’s always had a problem,” said Bonnie Ladell. “I talked to the girls at the lottery kiosk and said ‘Aren’t you concerned for what’s going on over your head?’ ”

Over a period of several months, Ladell took many photos of what appears to be water damage throughout the mall, including in the area above the lottery kiosk where the roof fell in at about 2 p.m. Saturday.

“I didn’t know whether to take an umbrella or a hard hat when I (would) go to the mall,” she said.

The 200,000 square-foot, two-level mall was a major hub of activity and employer in the town. The Algo Centre website lists 30 stores and services, including a hotel and major grocery store.

Margaret Rivard saw a friend of hers working at the lottery kiosk as she went into nearby Dollarama moments before the collapse. As Rivard left the store and walked towards Zellers, the roof over the kiosk collapsed behind her.

When she looked back, she saw only blackness and dust.

Tony Morano spent Sunday refreshing Facebook and phoning mutual friends to see if the woman at the kiosk, who he’s known since high school, had checked in yet. She had not.

Police would not confirm if Morano’s friend was one of the names on their list of missing individuals.

Morano, who also worked as a security guard at the mall in 1999, said problems with leaks stretch back for years.

“It’s not like ‘Okay it leaked last week’ — it’s been leaking for years. That’s the frustrating part,” he said.

An article from 2009 in the Standard, Elliot Lake’s community newspaper, features new owner Bob Nazarian of Richmond Hill saying that the leaks had stopped after a $1-million renovation.

“To those who have been injured, to those families of missing individuals, we offer our deepest sympathies,” Levon Nazarian, son of the building’s owner, told The Canadian Press in Elliot Lake.

The mayor of Elliot Lake declared a state of emergency Saturday, triggering action from the Toronto’s HUSAR team. It deployed for the seven-hour trek Saturday night, bringing tractor trailers, vans and rescue equipment to the northern Ontario town of 12,000, which sits about halfway between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

“The whole building shook,” said shopper Jean-Marc Hayward, adding it felt more like an earthquake at first. Hayward has Dwarfism and trouble with his back and legs, so he couldn’t run out for safety.

“I slowly got up and started going toward the exit. One guy was yelling, ‘There’s no way out! There’s no way out!’ There was a lot of debris and dust from insulation and cement.”

The search team consists of personnel from Toronto Fire, police, EMS and other specialists, including search and rescue dogs. The effort was scheduled to continue throughout the night, with two teams from Toronto being assisted by two others from the OPP.

“This is going to be a long process – it’s not going to be a one-day process,” said OPP media officer Christine Ouimet. “We’re going at a speed that ensures the safety of all our members.”

With files from Dylan C. Robertson and Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif, and The Canadian Press

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